ABOUT THE PROJECT
This project is born out of a sense of urgency to highlight and expose cultural and intellectual production of Black and Afro-descendent people from the archipelago of Puerto Rico and its diaspora
It is an interdisciplinary project that both draws from and is about the work of Rafael Cortijo Verdejo (1928 - 1982); a project that stems from our love for don Rafa’s work, whose repertoire has been engraved by his affection for his people, especially his Black people.
Thus, this project’s main purposes are: 1) to reclaim the figure and work of Cortijo, 2) to highlight Black artists and intellectuals, 3) to disseminate the cultural and intellectual production of Black Puerto Ricans as much as possible, and 4) to spotlight Black and Afro-descendent icons and mentors …. for our children and Black people.
contact: cocoyaniscortijo@gmail.com
“CORTIJO, DE COCO Y ANÍS” POSTERS FOR PURCHASE
The Cortijo Project is a self-managed endeavor that aims to perform several ventures. The first phase of this project is a book publication, which has received the support of Plataforma Eje, Loisaida Center and Beta - Local. To cover some expenses for other project ventures, 16x20-inch sized prints on silk screen paper of the work of art “Cortijo, De coco y anís,” will be available for purchase for $75.00 (plus $8 shipping and handling for requested mail delivery).
The first printing will be of 50 copies, signed by the artist Osvaldo Vázquez-Martínez.
To get your copy, fill out this form or write to us at cocoyaniscortijo@gmail.com with your phone number and address.
Payment methods: Paypal: @marucahr / Venmo: @Marissel-Hernandez / Ca$h App: $marimaruca / ATH Móvil: 939-403-8521
PROJECT MANAGER & EDITOR
Marissel Hernández Romero (she / they) “Maruca” is Puerto Rican, Black, Afrofeminist and a Scholar. She/They is currently an Assistant Professor at Alfred University in New York and holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Studies from The Graduate Center, CUNY.
Her/Their research focuses on exploring new representations of bandits in societies throughout Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Her most recent project examines Afrofuturism in Brazil and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, offering current theoretical considerations on music and sound to understand both social movements and endeavors of Black and Afro-descendents.
She/They have presented her/their work in Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Brazil and the United States. She/They also discusses racism, anti-racism, and Blackness in Puerto Rico through Op-Eds in Periódico Claridad de Puerto Rico, Revista Marea, Afroféminas, and AfroCubanas, La Revista.
Marissel has also worked as a translator with several Brazilian authors, which include Machado de Assis, Roberto de Sousa Causo, and Lu Ain Zaila. In addition, she worked on a Portuguese translation of the children’s story Los juguetes de Caleb by Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro.
Contact:
marissel.hernandez@gmail.com /
hernandezromero@alfred.edu
Twitter: @marissel_maruca